Common English Mistakes in Medical Reports by Cantonese Speakers

This page focuses on errors typically made by native Cantonese speakers from Hong Kong when writing a Medical Report in English.

Mistake Example #1

Overuse of direct translations from Cantonese

Patient Mr. Chan todcay come tothe hospital for acheck-up btoday. He sayid hewas feeling anot uncomfortable, needle-like pain inhis stomachand have pain like needle. After being seen by thedoctorsee him, itwas recommended suggesthat he drink more water and eat less spicy food. We will follow up with him next week to see if he is feelinget better.

Text corrected by:
Michele A., Boston, Massachusetts; United States

"I just replaced a word or two to make the English sound more natural. Overall, the ideas in this text are clearly expressed."

Patient Mr. Chan came to the hospital for a check-up today. He said he was feeling an uncomfortable, needle-like pain in his stomach. After being seen by the doctor, it was recommended that he drink more water and eat less spicy food. We will follow up with him next week to see if he is feeling better.

Patient Mr. Chan today come to hospital for check body. He say he feel not comfortable in stomach and have pain like needle. After doctor see him, we suggest he drink more water and eat less spicy food. We will follow up with him next week to see if he get better.

Mistake Example #2

Confusion with countable vs. uncountable nouns ('She has much friends')

Patient is a 45-year-old female who come to clinic with complaint of headache and dizziness. She report that she experience severe pain in head and have difficulty with balance. There is also much concern about her blood pressure, which she say is high for many days.

Text corrected by:
Jennifer, Detroit, Michigan USA

"The text does need a lot of corrections, though."

Patient is a 45-year-old female who come to clinic with complaint of headache and dizziness. She report that she experience severe pain in head and have difficulty with balance. There is also much concern about her blood pressure, which she say is high for many days.

Patient is a 45-year-old female who come to clinic with complaint of headache and dizziness. She report that she experience severe pain in head and have difficulty with balance. There is also much concern about her blood pressure, which she say is high for many days.

Mistake Example #3

Overuse of 'very' to emphasize adjectives

The patient is avery young male who presented with a very high fever anda very severe headache. Upon examination, his condition was found to be verycritical, callindg for immediate interventionwas very necessary. The medical team actedvery quickly to stabilize him, and he is now in a verystable condition,. but fFurther monitoring is vextremely important.

Text corrected by:
Gregg, Los Angeles, CA

"This needed tweaking to address overuse of the word "very.""

The patient is a young male who presented with a very high fever and severe headache. Upon examination, his condition was found to be critical, calling for immediate intervention. The medical team acted quickly to stabilize him, and he is now in stable condition. Further monitoring is extremely important.

The patient is a very young male who presented with a very high fever and a very severe headache. Upon examination, his condition was found to be very critical, and immediate intervention was very necessary. The medical team acted very quickly to stabilize him, and he is now in a very stable condition, but further monitoring is very important.